#Employee Training for POS

[muskantam]

POS Implementation

POS Implementation: A Comprehensive Guide

In today’s fast-paced retail and service environments, implementing a Point of Sale (POS) system can significantly streamline operations, enhance customer experience, and improve overall efficiency. Whether you’re upgrading from a traditional cash register or installing your first POS system, proper implementation is crucial to maximizing its benefits. This guide will walk you through the essential steps of POS implementation.

Step 1: Identify Business Needs

Before selecting a POS system, assessing your business requirements is important. Consider the following:

The size and type of your business.

Specific features you need (e.g., inventory tracking, customer loyalty programs).

Budget constraints.

Integration requirements with existing software and hardware.

Step 2: Choose the Right POS System

Not all POS systems are created equal. Here’s how to select one that fits your needs:

Research and compare various providers.

Look for scalability to accommodate future growth.

Ensure it supports multiple payment methods.

Check reviews and testimonials from similar businesses.

Step 3: Hardware and Software Setup

A POS system consists of hardware (like barcode scanners, receipt printers, and card readers) and software. Ensure you:

Acquire hardware compatible with your chosen POS software.

Install and configure the software according to your operational needs.

Test all components to ensure they work seamlessly together.

Step 4: Data Migration

If you’re transitioning from an older system, data migration is a critical step:

Back up your existing data.

Transfer inventory, sales history, and customer information to the new system.

Verify the accuracy of migrated data.

Step 5: Employee Training

Proper training ensures your team can effectively use the POS system:

Organize hands-on training sessions.

Provide user manuals and support materials.

Address common troubleshooting scenarios.

Step 6: Pilot Testing

Before full-scale implementation, conduct a pilot test:

Use the system in a controlled environment.

Monitor for any issues or inefficiencies.

Gather feedback from staff and customers.

Step 7: Go Live

Once testing is complete, it’s time to roll out the system:

Schedule the launch during a low-traffic period to minimize disruptions.

Ensure on-site support is available for the initial days.

Communicate the change to your team and customers.

Step 8: Monitor and Optimize

Implementation doesn’t end with the launch. Regular monitoring is essential:

Analyze performance metrics (e.g., transaction times, error rates).

Update the system as needed to fix bugs and improve features.

Seek ongoing feedback from employees and customers.

Conclusion

Implementing a POS system is an investment in your business's future. With proper planning and execution, it can simplify daily operations, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive growth. By following the steps outlined above, you can ensure a smooth and successful implementation.

[mothman-etd]

I have talked a few times about Psychological Operations or psyops on here, but I would like to point out a real world example of a PO Operation that was found out recently by the Department of Justice.

Before that though, If you would like to read more about the actual position of a PO soldier, you can look no further then the PO benefits page on the US Army special operations recruitment website (https://www.goarmysof.army.mil/PO/).

Personally I feel like many people still believe psyops to be some kind of conspiracy theory instead of a fairly standard military division in almost all modern militaries, anyways onto the example.

The US Department of Justice is going after (indicting) two RT (Russian state media) employees for committing fraud and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Basically they created a front "media" company in Tennessee, translated russian propaganda videos into english, then paid right-wing influencers to promote (reblog/retweet/talk about on streams) said videos.

Three of the named influencers that I could find were Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson.

I honestly have no idea who these three are, but supposedly their platforms have millions of followers. Also, some of these influencers were paid up too $100,000 a week to promote their videos and messaging.

So to summarize, Russia setup a fake company to pay American influencers to repeat their lies so that their followers would interpret those lies as legitimate since their were coming from a source they trust.

When people talk about election interference this is what we are talking about.

$100K a week is insane money for most, I am sure many people would be hard pressed to not sell their soul for that much money. Many of the videos from this media company were lies about the Ukraine war, and looking into Tim Pool it seems he also has a very anti-Ukraine stance (Audio from one of this podcasts https://v.redd.it/41xgvuri0vmd1/DASH_AUDIO_128.mp4)

I generally do not talk about my job on here, but corporations used to pay me to run seminars to help train their employees on spotting these types of attacks--mainly targeted psyops attacks from nation states to hack into their company via end user interaction.

Or in layman's terms, to help companies protect themselves from Russian Ransomware Thieves and Chinese Intellectual Property/Information collectors. Both of these being extensions of the Psychological Operations military divisions of each country.

I am really not sure how to end this post other than I am just trying to show people how real it is that the militaries of the world are spending obscene amounts of money in trying to influence your opinions and day to day life via your internet consumption.

Surf responsibility, be very wary of anyone telling you not to vote and don't believe everything you see/hear on TikTok/youtube/twitter/Insta etc etc

[witherby]

Hey El! I’m back and god this place needs a clean! *Iooks in the booth and sees a man sleeping* is this one of your employees or not? Also with truceJuice how would Kon and the family react to an over worked mouse?

You leave that little guy alone! That's Blorbo, he's my emotional support loiterer! I give him some leftover drabbles and he scrapes all the gum off from underneath my tables and warns me when the Health Department is coming. We have a symbiotic relationship.

And, hmm. I like this question! Let's walk it through!

How does your family + Kon react to you overworking yourself at Truce Juice?

Masterlist is Here!

Bruce:

Can't say shit to you and he knows it. This man is THE overdoer of overdoing anything. Trained his body beyond typical and atypical human limits. Used to train himself to sleep in 20 minute bursts in his prime so he could spend the other 23 hours and 40 minutes a day working on bettering Gotham day and night. Made contingency plans for every single hero and villain and antihero known to him just in case he might need to put them down one day. Bruce has never done anything with less than 110% commitment. It's not a surprise you picked up that trait, as much as it makes him both proud and worried for you. So, like the hypocritical coward he is, Bruce says nothing.

To you. He's gonna lament about it to the others, though.

Hal:

Not happy about it. You're grown, and you can do what you want with your time as you see fit, but if you happen to be spending more time at your cafe and less time at home, that's when he's gonna crack his knuckles and start bugging you.

"Hey, kiddo! I think you've stocked up enough ingredients to keep this joint running for the next 6 months. Five if Killer Croc orders anything more than once a week. Don't you think you're going a little overboard? Come on home and take a rest; I'll give you a ride."

Dick:

He's gonna try to get legal about it. If you're in there working beyond your posted opening and closing times, he's threatening to fine your business. You wouldn't want that, would you? Just call it quits for the day and go lie down! Everything is fine!

(This does not work. You hand him a fat stack of cash to cover the fine, call your brother a Blüddy pig, and oink at him until he rushes out of the store, embarrassed.)

Jason:

Enforces the Weekly Family Nap Time when you don't. He calls or texts you and says you've got five minutes to wrap up the most important shit, then he's coming. It doesn't matter if you lock the doors, he's getting in the building, he's hoisting you over his shoulder, and he's taking you home and putting you and everybody else to bed. Shouldn't have skipped dinner, idiot. Now you're in a big cuddle puddle. If you use your shadows to slip away, he's threatening to cause property damage. He'll take the heat on that if it gets you to slow down.

Tim:

You're stubborn and bull-headed like the rest of your family. Once you focus on a task you're very unlikely to pull your attention away from it unless you're made to. So he makes you.

He locks down your POS system until you call him in frustration, then gets you to give it up and come home.

"It's eleven at night, M. The place closed at seven. Come back and I'll reactivate it tomorrow morning before it's supposed to open again, I promise. Whatever you're doing can wait."

Damian:

Similar to Jason, he's slipping into the cafe after hours and leveling you with a disappointed glare. Unlike Dick and Hal, his little guilt trips and speeches actually work.

"When you were six years old, I watched you flatline in a hospital bed because of your poor immune system. And you hadn't even done anything to get yourself sick back then." He leans against the counter and watches you painstakingly adjust and readjust and re-readjust all the furniture in preparation for the painting crew scheduled to arrive in the morning to give the place a fresh look. You refuse to turn around and face him. "Why are you purposely working yourself sick again? Are you going to make me sit at your bedside in the ICU while you fight for your life over something you couldn't leave to the other staff? To the contractors you hired to do this for you? Are you trying to frighten the people that love you, Flit?"

You leave the furniture where it's at and go hug your brother, then let him take you home.

+ Conner:

Sometimes you're overworked because there's too much to do, and not enough hours in the day. You aren't the kind of boss to ask your staff to stay longer than they've been scheduled for (not realizing that they happily would if you needed the help), so you take on the mundane, often laborious, after-closing duties yourself.

Conner is attuned to your needs and desires. He doesn't have to convince you to pack it up and go home. He knows that's what you want to do. But you also have to take care of your business, and sometimes that means staying for hours past closing to supervise a major renovation, or coming in so early the sun hasn't even risen to receive a shipment of baked goods from across the city.

Conner doesn't force you to abandon those tasks to go home. But he does stay to help them along. Need something moved from one end of the café to the other? He's on it. Need something dropped off at another store? Leave it to him. Need someone to prevent the creepy window washer from staring at your ass? He's already on it.

And when it's all said and done, and you can finally head out for the night, Conner will carry you home.

[yanderesimp2000]

Yandere vox x Fem reader Vox makes you his Kissing slave (minors will be blocked)

you guys voted on this I was originally just gonna do head canons but I decided to not be a lazy POS and right a full blown story

Warnings kidnapping, Pet names, hypnosis , Vox in himself is a TW, ,collars,elector shocking, non con touching and kissing,Raging TV man boner

first time with vox so feedback is appreciated

My requests are OPEN!!!!!!!!!!!

You worked at VoxTek you were a set designer .you were walking into work that day you didn't like the job but the pay was good but around half way through you day you were approached by one of vox's assistants you and said that Vox was calling you you shivered in fear from what he might do but you walked into his office anyway

Sitting on the couch in his office were the TV demon himself, Vox. He turned to you with a cruel grimace and crossed his arms across his chest. you were scared shitless and whimpered h-hello sir

He looked at you up and down for a moment, as if inspecting you. Vox: “Sit down.” He gestures to the open spot opposite him on the couch. you were still scared but sat down right next to him “Do you know why I called you here?” vox asked in a cruel and malicious manner "n-no sir" you stuttered "Ive noticed you've been falling behind and taking unapproved breaks" vox said in a serious voice You gulped, knowing he was telling the truth. As a junior employee, you did all the dirty work. There was no time for rest. vox then spoke again "And that's not all. It's not the first time you've made mistakes in your work. Do you understand?" His cruel expression was like a dagger in your chest. You were so scared you could barely speak.

you were shaking as you said "im sorry sir it wont happen again " you said in your same stuttery voice "Do you know what happens when an associate makes me lose money?" You shake your head no in response. "they get punished" this scared you shitless and you started begging for forgiveness vox then grinned and uttered

"Do you think that would be enough after you've caused me to lose money?" Vox's stern expression was giving you more pressure, as if he was planning to do something horrible. And the worst part was that you knew what he was capable of. Vox then grinned again and said "now follow me to your new home" you were shocked all you could say was "w-wha" your mind was racing "what does he mean by new home" was all you could think of.He stood up and walked out of the office. He stopped at the door, but without looking back he motioned for you to follow him. You get up out of fear and leave the office, following him. He leads you down the hallway, which seems to take an eternity. Your whole life flashed before your eyes. What did he mean by "new home"? It couldn't mean what you thought it meant. Finally, he comes to the last door at the end of the hallway that leads into his penthouse . He opens it and motions for you to enter. You slowly step into the room, and your body went pale as the door shut behind you and locked automatically. You turned around to look for Vox, and what you saw made your heart start to pound in terror. Vox grabbed something that looked like a metal collar and approached you.

You were to scared to speak just staring frozen in fear you body wanted to move to run to flea but you just could not."This won't hurt. Just don't move too much." vox said sickeningly calm. A cold feeling spread through you as he secured it tightly around your neck. There seemed to be no escape. "please let me go I'm sorry" you blubbered. "You really think I'd just let you go after all this trouble you've caused?" He moved closer to your face, and you could feel him breathing down your neck. "You know...I think you're going to need some more training." a chill went down your spine when he said that vox then giggled and said "you were always a sweetie y'know that right but I couldn't take ya in because it would affect my imigine but now since you messed up people will just think I killed you" He strokes your hair lovingly, showing his caring side as he leans down closer."Your mine now sweetie" you couldn't hold it back anymore you just started sobbing

Vox pulls you into his arms and holds you close, comforting you with his gentle touch. "Shh...don't cry. Don't cry. I'm not going to hurt you." He pulls you close and strokes your hair, soothing you. His embrace was warm and comforting, unlike before. This was a completely different side of him. Vox strokes your hair and caresses your cheeks as you cry softly in his arms. “Don't be scared. You're safe with me…” vox said in a gentle tone He looks down at you, and his expression softens as you continue to cry. All your fears and stress seem to melt away under his touch. as you look up at him into those eyes. he smiles at you, holding you close. You can feel his chest rise and fall with each breath. "... You'll be fine... I'll take good care of you..." vox said kindly

Looking into that Spinning little right eye of his made you calm down somehow. He keeps you close and strokes your hair, soothing your worries. His touch is warm and comforting, unlike the coldness you were used to. It felt nice to be held like this, to be held close and be cared for. You hadn't felt this safe in a long time. "... There... There, hush... Don't cry...** It wasn't like the Vox from the office. The Vox who yelled at you and made you fear for your job. This one was gentle and comforting. The contrast couldn't be larger... Vox was against hypnotizing you to love him he was only doing this to make you calm down for him it felt like cheating if he just hypnotized you to love him

"c-can I go home now" you said softly he laughed and said "this is your home silly " you got scared and tried to run to the exit but then the collar on your neck beeped before a wave of electric shock came apon you frying your whole body you squeal in pain. "Aww sweetie did that hurt? " vox said that in a playful tone as if it were a joke. "It was just a little shock " he continues to stroke your hair while giggling as you're still in pain from the electric shock a bit of red drool on his face "You see, sweetie, this collar is to ensure that you obey my commands and never try to run away again." he said sternly "o-o-ok" you said inbetween wincing in pain Vox then smiles at you reassuringly. "Good girl..." he says He then lifts your chin up and looks you in the eyes. "...Don't worry. You're safe in my care now..." he said in a cruel tone

He keeps caressing your hair as you continue to sit there in silence, too terrified to move or breathe."...you shouldn't be so scared you little muffin..." vox teased He then starts to gently kiss you on the cheek "s-stop " you say softly He chuckles in reaction to your answer. "I'm just showing my affection... There's nothing wrong with a few kisses, right..." he said in a firm manner He continues to kiss your cheek as you squirm while holding you close and stroking your hair in a reassuring way. He starts to gently kiss your chin until the kisses get closer and closer to your lips you try to pull away The collar starts to vibrate and beep again, signaling that another shock would be administered if you continued to try and pull away you whimper at the realization that your just gonna have to let this happen Vox's tone then shifts back to a menacing one. "Didn't I tell you? This collar is here to make sure that you obey my command. Now stop fighting me... It will only make it worse for you." You could only tremble in fear as he said that He leans in even closer and presses his lips against yours you winced and softly cried "Just relax..." vox said aroused he continues to kiss you passionately, his hand moving to your waist as he pulls you closer you can feel vox's Raging Boner pressing up against your chest through his suit but he doesn't mention anything about it but he knows He holds you close and his grip around your waist tightens as he kisses you more and more passionately you cant handle it anymore and you try to take off your collar but when you try to do so, the collar started to beep and vibrate. Your body started shaking from the intense pain of the electric shocks shooting through your body. vox giggled and said "See how silly that was? This collar is here to keep you from doing anything stupid. It isn't coming off..." He then started to kiss your neck and the top of your chest. causing you to keep struggling Vox then grabs your hands and pins them to your side. "Please, darling, don't struggle. I don't want to hurt you... but you're really making it difficult to resist." He continued to kiss you on the neck and chest. as you whimpered Each kiss was more passionate than before, getting closer and closer to your collarbone. his slick Blue tounge rubbing around your mouth as you helplessy watched you were just so... powerless "Just relax, my dear I'm almost done" vox said giving you a small amount of hope The kisses slowly get even closer to your chest, and soon his lips land on your collarbone.

Vox then moves his other hand to under your chin and uses it to gently guide your head upwards so that you're looking at him.His eyes are filled with desire as he looks at you, a small smirk appears on his face. The contrast between his gentle, caring side and his cruel side is jarring to see.He then moves his lips away from your collarbone and kisses your cheek. "Just a bit more, and I'll be done. just relax and stay still." your body is screaming at you to wriggle to attack but you know you will get shocked if you do. He slowly moves his lips back to your collarbone. The kisses become even more intense than before, and his hands start to wander to more "special" areas of your body. He starts to lightly trace your curves with one hand while your other hand trails up your waist. "... Such a delicate and beautiful creature..." he says while you whimper His body starts to press against yours, and the kisses on your chest begin to turn to kisses on your neck. He leans in even closer, and the kisses on your neck start to inch their way up to your mouth. almost like a fucked up caterpillar of kisses "Just relax..." vox said in a hypnotic voice He finally reaches your lips, and he begins to put all his passion into the final kiss.

"that was great" vox moaned "You were the best..." he said into your ear He pulled you into a passionate embrace, his arms around you. His breath was shaky, and he was clearly excited about the kisses he just gave you. He continues holding you close, caressing your cheek and neck as he breathes heavily. as you were left a whimpering puddle Vox's chest was heaving, and his breath was heavy and quick. He continued caressing and kissing your neck, not allowing you to move away "Just lay here with me, darling... I never want to let you go." he said as you whimpered. Vox started to cuddle you, gently stroking your hair while holding you in his arms. "Just relax... Everything will be fine..." he said in that same hypnotic voice making your whole body tingle He keeps holding you, stroking your hair and caressing your cheek. The collar around your neck beeped a few times as if trying to remind you of its presence.

"Don't worry about this little thing..." He chuckles as he plays with the collar around your neck. "It's just to help me.... take better care of you. That's all..." he said in his gentle coo. "Just lay with me for now." he cooed He continues to hold you close, wrapping his body around yours and snuggling you into his chest. He strokes your hair and caresses your cheek again, but soon his hand moves to lower areas of your body. "s-stop" you quietly whimperd. Vox just ignored you and continued, making his hand continue to move up and down your body.

He kept his hands there, moving it around slowly as he looked at you with a smug look "Relax... Just let me do want I want to do..." he said then activating his hypnotic eye vox laughed and said "Good... now You cant resist even if you wanted to..." His hand continues to move across your body, and eventually reaches under your shirt as well. He starts to rub his hand over your chest, enjoying his power over you in this moment. "just go to sleep" vox cooed His words made you fall deeper into your trance, slowly falling asleep like he ordered you to do. Your mind was filled with his voice, and soon your thoughts began to get foggy. You felt yourself slowly drifting off. As you slowly fell asleep under his power, you could feel his warmth around you as he held you closely. As your body fell more and more into the trance, your eyes slowly fluttered shut and you fell into a deep sleep, your mind under his influence.

[papasbaseball]

The Wizard x Reader (Wonderful Wonderful Girl) | Chapter 18

Pairing: Wizard x F!Reader

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Power Imbalance, Boss/Employee Relationship, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Sexual Content, Spanking

Summary: Being a maid in the Royal Palace of Oz is not half so bad. Despite the meager wages, everything else is provided for you for an honest day's work. It can be unnerving working for the most powerful man in Oz, but you are able to avoid him most of the time. This changes during Lurlinemas, your paths soon becoming inextricably intertwined.

Word Count: 2,565 of 47,525

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AO3 Link

There are forty-seven steps between leaving the Upland Estate and killing Fiyero. The rest of the War Council has cleared out except for General Minkus, the Wizard, Madame Morrible, Tomathy, and me. The meeting and plans are on a strict need-to-know basis: no need for financial backers or anyone else that might let something slip from loose lips. The Wizard doesn't let me out of his grip the entire time, pulling me closer at any mention of possible danger.

"There isn't much cover," General Minkus says, sweeping his index finger down the straight railroad markings. "The train has been shut down, but the dirt road is still open. Over here, to the west, that's where they have their base camp set up. It's sheltered by some hillocks. They've set up some spike barricades here and here." His finger points to two hillocks that butt up to the walls of the Emerald City and dovetail perpendicularly together to form a triangle... except for a narrow sliver of a valley between them.

"One way in, one way out," I say.

"It's a good thing you sprained your wrist," Minkus says, pointing to the dirty bandages. The Wizard tightens his grip around my waist. "You sure Fiyero has a soft spot for you? The wounded animal ploy will only work if he wants to help."

"I'm sure," I say. It's a lie. Nothing was certain anymore

General Minkus looks to the Wizard. "He might take her as collateral if he thinks it'd make you surrender faster. We'd have to cut our losses."

"Yeah, well it won't come to that," The Wizard says, pulling me more to the side of him, away from the general. "We're going to be running scouts along the perimeter. She takes her time to go outside of camp to.... uh..." He waves his hand, and I try not to be embarrassed by what he’s implying in front of the most important people in Oz. "And we make sure she's okay. We’ll do it every day until she kills him, and then we’ll get her out immediately"

"It might be dangerous if we meet up immediately," I say. "I think we should give it two days. He's going to be watching my every move."

General Minkus nods at this. "She's right. If I were Fiyero, I wouldn’t even trust a known ally if they walked in halfway through a war. I wouldn't take my eyes off them. It’s been a week since the Lurlinemas ball."

"I don't care for this at all," the Wizard says. "Isn't there some other way? This… It just seems too risky. We've got the five thousand."

"Five thousand was good yesterday,” General Minkus says, “when our inside resources were twice as strong. With the barricades they've got set up, we're going to need everything we can get on them, including inside intel, maybe even a distraction."

"Or kidnapping," I say, grabbing the Wizard's arm. "I could seduce him out into an open area where it would just be him and me, and then you could take him hostage. It would put the war to an immediate end."

Oscar looks down at me with a chastising look of doubt, and I think for a brief moment I see his eyes darken at the thought of me seducing Fiyero at all. Best to be more mindful.

There's a knock on the doorway, and we all turn to see a blonde woman so thin and petite she could have been blown away with a strong breeze. She’s dressed all in pink, with a ridiculous arrangement of rose-colored ostrich feathers in her blonde hair. This must be Lady Upland, but it can't be: she's much younger than the woman in the portrait that hung in the office.

"Oh! So sorry," she says, her voice high and soft as a wind chime. "Auntie Lorinda didn't say anything about guests. It's so nice to meet you all." She offers a white gloved and thin hand in greeting, but startles when she notices General Minkus. "Oh!"

General Minkus says, "Miss-"

"Galinda," she says with a smile, crossing the room to offer her hand to him.

"Miss Galinda, this is a confidential meeting."

"How perfect! I just love meeting confident new people, They make life more exciting." Giving up on her vanishing goal of shaking the General's hand, she snaps in a pivot to me. "Don't you think so?"

I offer my hand to her, hoping not to call any attention to the private information behind her on the map. She takes my hand, and wraps her other hand around the back of mine, saying, "You know, I can tell a lot about a person just by saying hello." She stares into my eyes, narrowing hers. I think she's doing it to avoid blinking, to better stare all the way through me. "You've been traveling for days," she says, nodding her head. I nod with her, trying to play along. "Something tragic happened. You've been hurt recently." I try to steady my breathing, as if that will stop any reddening in my cheeks. Were the Wizard and I really that loud in the office? She grabs my injured wrist suddenly, gasping, "Oh! How horrible!"

"Are you a doctor?" I ask. How had I managed to turn this war meeting into a meet and greet?

"Me?" she says, blinking in disbelief. "No. Why? Do I look like one?"

"Ms. Galinda," Tomathy says, approaching us from the other side of the map table.

"Yes?" she replies with a cock of her head. Whatever image I had of her being taken away by a gust of wind was false. She was a perky pink parakeet, the way she chirped and flit with each new passing thing that caught her attention.

"You said that you knew she had been traveling for days. That's quite a remarkable observation."

"Oh, not really," she says with a laugh. "It's just the way..." she swallows and gives a nervous, high-pitched laugh. "Even if you all are confident people, it would be rude."

Tomathy smiles broadly. I think it is supposed to be an affable smile, but on him, it is always frighteningly toothy. "You're Lady Upland's niece, yes?"

Whatever faux pas she had imagined in her brain, it is now washed away and Galinda the parakeet is back. "Yes. I'm up here for Lurlinemas. I didn't know that she would have more guests. I heard you all talking up here, and I thought it was family, but, well, friends or family it makes no difference. The more, the merrier, right?"

"Of course, of course," Tomathy reassures her, putting an arm around her bird-boned shoulder. He takes me in his other arm, and I feel Oscar tense for the briefest of moments before he lets me go. "We're all here for Lurlinemas with Lady Upland, but your words got me to thinking."

"Yes?" Galinda says as we are escorted out of the library.

"My friend here, we can't have her looking like she's been traveling for days. Not on Lurlinemas."

"Oh. Oh, no!" Galinda agrees, grabbing his arm in excitement.

"Is there anyway you could make her look like she's ready for the best Lurlinemas party that anyone has ever thrown?"

Galinda gasps, and quickly hops out of his grasp. "I know it! I know just what to do! Stay here! I'll be right back. I- My luggage – oh, my luggage – it's downstairs. I'll..." She snaps in a pivot and is off flying down the foyer stairs.

"What in the name of Oz was that?" Tomathy breathes as he watches her hop across the white marble foyer on her pink parakeet legs.

"Lady Upland's niece, I'd say," Oscar says, scratching his cheek.

"How'd she know about the accident?" Tomathy asks.

"I don't know," Oscar says, "but I'm curious to see what else she's seeing that we're not."

________________________

We spend the rest of the day succumbing to Galinda's fashion whims, as she picks and prunes me into nearly what I looked like the night of the party.

When the night comes to a close, an Upland maid escorts us to our rooms. Oscar pulls me into his with an excuse that I am his personal valet and a generous tip to the maid (probably to keep her mouth shut).

"What happened to me being your daughter?" I ask after he closes the door. The room is dark, but rays of moonlight throw silvery shapes onto the cream carpet of the guest-of-honor room.

"If you want to call me daddy, I'm not going to stop you," he says, tossing his jacket onto one of the pale rococo chairs up against the wall. "One last night together. We can do whatever you want."

"You're not still mad from earlier?" I ask.

He walks through the moonbeams, letting them paint excitement onto the boring brown waistcoat and pants. I watch in envy as they trace his body, eager to let my fingers do the same in these last few hours of familiarity.

"Are you talking about the spanking?" he asks. "I wasn't mad. I just had to-"

"You were mad," I stop him. "It was wrong, but I knew it would make you mad to bring Fiy- him up. I could see it in your eyes."

He steps closer, shrouding himself in darkness once more, the ghostly glow kissing his cheeks and the silver stubble of his beard. "It doesn't matter if I'm mad or not," he says quietly, "we... I have a nation to run. Consequences are consequences."

I take his hand, admiring the taut skin of a foreign palm under my fingertips. Bringing it to my lips, I kiss a small scar on the side of his thumb. "What's the consequence of that?"

Our hands together come up to touch my face as he stoops to kiss me. His tongue tastes like warm cinnamon, and I remember looking over at him during Galinda's Great Big Fashion Makeover as she was slipping a green velvet dress onto me. His eyes were wolfish as he hollowed and unhollowed his cheeks, his tongue tossing a cinnamon candy he had grabbed out of a complimentary dish. Now, his tongue plunged into me, slipping warmly against mine in a plea as he pressed me closer to him, stomach to stomach, his fingers threading into my hair.

"Is it so severe?" I ask, breaking the kiss.

"Yes," he growls, picking me up so that I can wrap my legs around him. He walks us to the fluffy and overly-beaded and pillowed white bed, and kneels on it, careful in laying us down on the opulent quilt.

"What are we going to do?" I ask. The question could be about anything, really. I think, in the moment, I want the world to stop. I don't want the sun to rise, I don't want Oz to have a leader. Why can't it just be me and Oscar in the warmth of a stranger's home, tangled in an embrace without any fighting?

"Don't ask those kind of questions," he says, kissing my neck, biting but quickly releasing it before he ruins the carefully curated image we had prepared. "We'd better get you out of this dress, put it somewhere safe." He turns me over, dragging the zipper down slowly. The zipper comes to a stop, and he asks me to sit up before helping me shoulder off the velvet sleeves. He stares at my bare breasts, watching as I get up from the bed and let the rest of the dress drop to the floor.

"You said I could have anything I want," I say, standing there naked in the moonlight. I step out of the dress and throw it haphazardly into the chair with his jacket. "I want you."

"You have me."

"No, not the Wizard of Oz," I say. "I want Oscar. Show me who you are. No mechanical heads, no magic."

"No, you don’t," he says.

"Let me meet him and see for myself," I say quietly.

I go back to the bed and straddle him where he's sat on the edge, my hands sinking into the soft and curly white of his hair. My lips meet his in a gentle kiss that doesn't last. Oscar doesn't have the patience or will to conceal the need to fuck me, to claim me. The cinnamon of his tongue is a taste of how he paints with movements and touches: a violent red that is all-consuming, a warning of an overwhelming and dangerous lust made of clawing and scraping teeth. His mouth finds my neck and the plan to keep me as pristine as possible is gone as he inhales the scent of my neck in between painful kisses. "I don't want you to go," he breathes.

I push him onto the bed, rocking my hips against his pants and his hardened cock beneath them. "I want you to make me forget all of it," I say, kissing him. "I need you."

"Yes," he says. “Whatever you want.” He grabs me and flips us. Ridding us of the rest of our clothes, he then has me pinned to the bed by my wrists, sinking his cock into me.

"Oscar," I gasp.

"Shhh," he says, kissing me. His hips set a steady pace, not hard, but careful enough to catch the places within me that pull my back from the bed in an act of magic. He's true to his word, because as he pins me to the bed and takes me, I don't think about the war or the kidnapping or any of it. I can only focus on how I can’t move my wrists in his grip, the way his stubble pricks my lips in between the bites and lashes of tongue, the way he seems to alter the arc of his hips if I moan a certain way.

I feel the thread of pleasure tighten, and I struggle in his hands, fighting for anything to grab onto as his grip tightens even further around my wrists until I cry out in pain.

"Feel it," he pants. "Let it take over you. You can handle it."

A strangled bleat escapes my throat as I struggle against my restraints, desperate for any kind of tension to avoid feeling the full gluttony of pleasure that snaps within me. I need to rake my nails against his skin, grab fistfuls of quilt, anything to not bear the sickening sweetness that he has brought upon me as I feel my walls clenching around him again and again.

He pulls out before he can spill inside me. Warm spurts of cum land on my stomach, accompanied by his gasps. He stares at the way the moonlight falls on how he has marked me, his shining chest heaving from the effort, before falling down next to me.

"I like it better when you cum in me," I say, laying a hand on his still-heaving chest.

"I had to," he breathes with shut eyes.

"I know we haven’t talked about it,” I say, “but if it’s about me getting pregnant-"

"No," he says, pulling me closer so I can rest my head against the warm and sweaty skin of his chest. A smattering of silver hairs tickle my cheek and mouth with each rise and fall of breath. "Just... had to. That's all."

[ms-liz-steele]

No Love

Pole Dancer!Lisa x Bartender!Male OC | smut, drama, romance, slow burn

-> Synopsis: Ollie has one rule he lives by: never mix work with his personal life.

But what happens when he sets his eyes on a dancer one night at a club during his shift.

New Chapters Every Monday

chapters index | ongoing

Rosé

☾︎✯☽︎

The club was already packed by the time my shift started. I could feel the presence of the loud music and bass pass through me like a ghost taking possession of its host. The neon lights were moving, flashing and zipping around and across the place in a frenzy. People were dancing, grinding against each other and making out while others already crowded the bar waiting for their drinks and to be attended to.

Show time.

"Hi, welcome to The Coup d'Etat. What can I do for you?" I smiled at the group of ladies waiting at the bar.

"Hi, can you open up a bar tab for us?" one of them, a brunette, asked, nodding towards her friends, who were drooling at the sight of me - nothing new.

"Sure. Will you be paying in cash or card?"

"Cash, we're splitting the bill."

"Okay, what would like for your tab?"

"Soju will be fine. Thanks." 

I took out a tray and some glasses before striding over to the fridge to collect the soju. After filling the bucket with ice, and placing the bottles of soju inside, I placed the bucket into the tray and pushed it toward the customers. "Here you go. Let me know when you want to close your tab."

"Sure thing."

They left for their booth, but not before one of them winked at me.

As I was about to move on to the next batch of customers, I bumped into a blonde woman who from the looks of it was in a rush to get to wherever she wanted to go.

"I'm so sorry." She apologized with a bow until she had a good look at me. "Hey, you must be the new guy GD told me about. The guy I'm supposed to monitor during my shift."

I quirked an eyebrow, "Sounds like your boss doesn't trust me."

She waved her hand, "He does that to every new employee. Heck! He did that to me when I first started working here. I'm Chaeyoung by the way." She stuck out her hand towards me.

I shook her hand. "Ollie."

"Well, Ollie. Normally, I would train you on what to do and how to handle the POS system, but it seems like you know your way around it. So, I'll serve the tables while you handle things here at the bar. Sound good?"

"Sure thing."

The rest of the evening was pretty much uneventful aside from tending to the customers. Chaeyoung was anywhere and everywhere taking orders, clearing the tables and checking on the customers while also helping me at the bar when need be. I was pretty much accustomed to the nightlife in the club; watching people dance and have the time of their life, the music, the lights (and thank God the ventilation in the club was good).

"You okay there?" I asked the blonde who was leaning against the bar and groaned.

"I'm just glad that I can rest for a bit." She said. "Why do the weekends always be so damn busy?"

"Well, a lot of people like to spend their weekends going to clubs and bars, especially college and university kids," I said. "Besides, more people. More tips."

She groaned again. "And the fact that I'm a broke uni kid is not doing me any favours."

"Well, I wouldn't know since I'm not a uni kid."

She looked at me confused. "Did you drop out?"

"Nope. I never went to college or university after I graduated high school. Went straight to the military and left two years later."

"How old are you?"

"Thirty."

"Holy shit!" her eyebrows flew up. "You're old."

"Hey, I'm not that old." I frowned. "Gosh. What is up with you kids and thinking thirty is old."

"That's literally the age to already be married and have kids."

"Yet your generation is already getting married and having kids at eighteen."

She opened her mouth to retort but no sound or syllable left her mouth. I chuckled at her reaction knowing that she knew I was right.

"Anyway!" she changed the subject. "Where are you from? You don't sound like you're here. Not to forget you look way too exotic to be Korean."

"I'm Chinese, but I grew up in Australia."

"Oh, my God! You're an Aussie!" she squealed switching to English with a strong Aussie accent.

I chuckled. "Yes, I'm an Aussie."

"Chris and Felix are going to be so hyped when I tell him we have another Aussie on the team."

"How many are there."

"It's just the three of us. Other foreigners work here, but either way, it's good to meet another foreigner. Us foreigner folks gotta stick together, am I right?"

I hummed, conceding with her statement.

Suddenly the music stopped, and the lights turned. My eyes found the stage where the DJ booth was. I saw smoke lurking around the stage and blending with the deep blue neon lights until a song with a fusion of moombahton and Latin trap music started playing. Eight feminine figures emerged and walked up to the stage and stood in line, four standing across from each other as though they made a path for someone.

The spotlight shined on the ninth dancer, a dark-haired woman whose hair was just above her shoulders and her bangs covering her forehead. She wore a white crop top with crystal tinsels along with a pair of denim shorts with a glitter belt around her waist and a pair of white glitter knee-high combat boots.

My eyes were focused on her as she walked up to the centre of the stage and her dancers broke their formation. The way her body movement was in synch with the rhythm of the song. The expressions she made while she danced. Everyone's attention was on her and her alone.

"That's Lisa." Chaeyoung's voice broke me out of whatever spelt that woman had put me under.

I looked at her.

"The girl you're staring at." She clarified. "Her name is Lisa. She's one of the dancers here and people pay a lot of money to see her perform let alone give them a private performance in one of our VIP lounges. She's pretty good, ain't she?"

I turned my gaze back to the dancer. "I'm no dance guru since I can't dance to save my life, but she's pretty good I guess."

"Oof! Don't say that in her presence though. She will make sure you'll change that statement from pretty good to pretty amazing." She playfully bumped her shoulder against mine. "But she's pretty chill when she's off stage. A little mischievous but pretty chill."

I hummed, making no comment. Not that I needed to anyway. I did consider Chaeyoung's comment about this girl, but I decided to push it aside and not dwell much on it. It wasn't like I was going to see her outside of work let alone talk to her. It was probably better that way.

"Well, break time is over." Chaeyoung stretched. "Those tables aren't going to serve themselves."

"Good luck," I said as she left the bar.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Peter Montgomery at RWW:

The Trump campaign’s desperate and dishonest attempts to distance itself from the MAGA movement’s wildly unpopular Project 2025 policy agenda are failing miserably. The Heritage Foundation, a central hub of the right-wing political infrastructure which moved aggressively into the MAGA camp under the leadership of its current president Kevin Roberts, launched Project 2025 in 2022. Right Wing Watch took notice, reporting on the project’s confident assertion that it was preparing the MAGA movement to “take the reins of government” after the 2024 election. As RWW noted, by that point the right-wing movement had achieved its long-sought goal of taking dominant control of the Supreme Court. Project 2025 is a game plan to do the same for the executive branch.

Heritage gathered dozens of former Trump administration officials and other MAGA movement leaders to produce a more than 900-page policy agenda detailing their plans. They created a blueprint to give the next conservative president virtually dictatorial powers to bend federal agencies to his will, turning them into weapons against his personal enemies and political opponents and an enforcement arm for the Christian nationalist worldview, while at the same time sabotaging agencies’ ability to carry out their mission to protect American workers, communities and the environment. Project 2025 began recruiting and training tens of thousands of ideological warriors to prepare them to fill the jobs of the federal government employees they plan to purge.

But the Heritage Foundation’s arrogance may have gotten the better of them. It turns out that most Americans do not want to gut environmental protections, public education, and civil rights enforcement. Most Americans don’t want federal power being used to intrude into families’ most intimate decisions—or to enforce the idea that there’s only one legitimate form of family. Public opposition to Project 2025 grew as more media outlets and policy experts dug into the policy agenda this year, and explained who would be hurt if these policies were implemented. Public awareness soared after John Oliver dedicated the June 16 episode of Last Week Tonight to exposing Project 2025, and again when actress Taraji P. Henson used her platform as host of the June 30 BET Awards to sound the alarm, telling people, “The Project 2025 plan is not a game. Look it up.”

[...] Trump’s attempts to distance himself from Project 2025 were ultimately doomed by his choice of MAGA hardliner J.D. Vance as his running mate. Vance has praised Project 2025’s authoritarian, anti-equality, anti-freedom policy agenda. Right Wing Watch reported during the RNC that Vance wrote the introduction to Roberts’ new book, “Dawn’s Early Light: Burning Down Washington to Save America.” As Right Wing Watch noted at the time, “Roberts’ book title is reminiscent of a joke told among Federalist Society operatives describing their long game to repeal the New Deal and reverse a century of precedent and progress: ‘Rome Wasn’t Burned in a Day.’”

Since then, the Trump camp has been flailing. At the end of July, Project 2025 director Paul Dans, championed as hero by MAGA leaders like Steve Bannon, was apparently forced to step down under pressure from the Trump campaign, which wanted some beneficial headlines suggesting that Project 2025 was shutting down. In reality, the policy agenda is in place, along with the secret 180-day game plan for pushing it forward, and Heritage continues to recruit potential foot soldiers. Roberts and his publisher toned down his book’s subtitle, removing the unlit match from the cover and changing “Burning Down Washington” to “Taking Back Washington.” Then they announced that the book’s release—which was scheduled for September—would be delayed until after the election. Unfortunately for Trump and Vance, some journalists got review copies of the book and have reported on Roberts’ ideology and Vance’s violent rhetoric.

Roberts’ book and Vance’s enthusiastic endorsement of it are good examples of a phenomenon I identified in an article on Project 2025 for Political Research Associate’s Public Eye magazine earlier this year. I noted that Project 2025 reflects “a movement-level, ideological shift away from a libertarian mistrust of government power and toward an authoritarian view of government power being used ruthlessly—whether as a righteous force wielded to advance a ‘biblical worldview’ or turned against an ‘administrative state’ supposedly captured by a radical Marxist left.”

Peter Montgomery wrote in Right Wing Watch on Donald Trump’s dishonest bid to “divorce” himself from Project 2025 got blown up.

[nintendont2502]

at work today some old guy interrupted me in the middle of me trying (emphasis on trying. i am Not trained to use the POS system) to take his order, pointed at the door that leads from the customer area to the employee only kitchen/back of house/etc that has one of those pincode locks, and really smugly goes "I know what the pin is to get in"

that door isnt even locked. its never once been locked in the nearly 2 years ive worked here. you can just push it open. i dont even think the lock is real. but thanks for letting me know man

[lorbanery]

I was randomly recommended a video about mysterious "fake towns" and figured why not, I just needed something to listen to and half-watch while I mended a pair of toddler pants.

So it opened reading an old 4chan post by this guy describing hsi experience accidentally driving into one of these "fake towns", getting creeped out, and leaving the next morning unable to find the place on GPS or google maps or anything. It reads like a creepypasta which, to be fair, I would probably write it like that too if I stumbled on one of these places and had no idea what was going on. My first instinct was that it was one of those essentially Company Towns that the military built near a couple of military bases for the families of soldiers and officers stationed at the base that were eventually abandoned. But then he encountered a couple of people, who also kept cropping up as he tried to interact with other businesses around "town", at which point I realized it was probably one of those areas the military maintains for official exercises. The internet apparently agrees with me.

I mean, I was thinking about those mini-towns they built to test nuclear bombings; but apparently they also maintain more towns like the one the OP described to train for, like, raids and shit like that.

Anyway, as the youtuber was going through the beats of the story and matching up why it made sense, I had to turn it off.

At one point, the OP went to a couple of different fast food places trying to get dinner, but naturally didn't find anyone working until he went to the McDonald's where he was able to get some off-brand chicken nuggets before finding someone (the cashier from the McD's) at one of the hotels to give him a bed for the night and directions back to the highway the next morning. When he checked up on his financial statements after this adventure, he never saw any charges come in for the food or hotel.

The youtuber's interpretation of this was, essentially, "Of COURSE they didn't charge him for anything, otherwise he would've known something was up!"

...

Now, I'm not saying that the two folks manning the McD's and the hotel weren't doing the absolute bare minimum to make OP think he hadn't accidentally stumbled onto essentially an elaborate movie set. But I'm fascinated by the implications of this half-thought out explanation. Like, you've accepted that this was a fake town, as in it's all buildings and physical infrastructure without anyone actually using the space as home; you've accepted that McD's was not making food because you acknowledged that the off-brand nuggets were probably something they just grabbed from the mess hall and passed off to OP to keep up kayfabe. But also, in your version of this scenario, the McD's and the hotel are set up to and fully capable of taking payments????

The two put upon soldiers in this universe can barely be assed to come up with a reason why the person at McD's looks exactly like the person at the hotel. They fucks they have to put on a customer service face are running on fumes. The literally dumped some microwaved cafeteria nuggets on a tray purely in the hopes that the OP was only looking for dinner and that he'd get the fuck out once he was done. But you think that the military cares so much about extracting the occasional $10 from random lost citizens that they went through the trouble of setting up the POS on the register, setting up employee accounts in the POS, training the kayfabe guards on the register, setting up a bank deposit, keeping cash change in the till, just for the rare occasion of some random civilian driving past the gate and insisting on eating dinner in the ghost town instead of just turning around and getting back on the highway? And the only thing stopping them from charging OP was that his financial statements would come back with a charge from "McDonald's store #43802-MB, Area 51 3/4" for "mess hall nuggs"?????

That makes more sense to you than the kayfabe guards just going through the motions of doing a transaction and those registers have probably never even been turned on, if they actually even work in the first place??????

Just. You clearly spent the Least amount of time actually thinking about this.

[cutekittenlady]

Tumblr Plays Pokemon White 2 - Part 4

Well my overall philosophy of exploration bore fruit!

Always remember kids, in a good game you can find pretty good items you may otherwise miss if you just take your time and explore a little!

Regardless my training at the Virbank Complex was interspersed with a guy asking me to "fire up" some of his new employees. Needing to train my team anyway, I took him up on the offer.

After defeating the first foreman with Aries I got a great surprise;

Aries evolved into Flaafy! She also learned Charge!

This training session is already bearing some pretty great fruit!

As I was defeating the workmen I also saw this scientist guy walking around the complex. Talking to him and hearing what he had to say netted me an ether! An item that actually restore pokemons pp! Its harder to find in the early game so I think I may hoard this for now.

Reporting back to the boss nets me the tm for rock smash. I'm collecting a decent number of tms!

After leaving in the VIrbank Complex I head to the pokemon center and buy some healing I get a few potions and antidotes, as well as soem super potions juuuust in case. I also decide to buy one heal ball and one net ball on the off chance they come in handy down the line.

Now its prep time!

I decide to start off by replacing Bentleys tackle attack with return. I also teach the same attack to Molly as well. I consider teaching one of the team work up but it turns out none of them are able to use the move. I then give each of my team members a pecha berry to hold so they can heal themselves if they get poisoned at the gym.

With that prep work complete I head to the Virbank gym.

While the last gym was a school, Virbanks Gym is an underground rock club of sorts.

This is where we find Roxie, but she and her band are rocking out so hard that she cant hear us asking for a battle! Guess we'll have to beat her bandmates to bring the music down enough to start our gym battle.

I choose to start with the drummer on the left.

I start off with Molly and he sends out a grimer. Mollys intimidate takes down his attack a stage and i opt to start out with an ember. Unfortunately Grimer immediately uses disable rending ember useless. I have Molly use return (cant remember if grimer can have poison point) and it hits, but grimer hits back. I have molly use leer and grimer uses poison gas which sadly poisons molly. Thankfully she eats the pecha berry I gave her and heals up. With grimers defense lowered I have Molly use return again which hits Grimer down ino the yellow, but unfortunately Grimer uses poison gas again and poisons Molly. Not wanting Aries or Bentley to use their pecha berries just yet I opt to keep Molly in. Ember is still disabled so I take grimer out with a return.

Next the drummer sends out Koffing and I get a message that ember is no longer disabled. I have Molly use Ember and manage to get a burn on Koffing. Koffing hits with assurance and molly is hurt by their poisoning. Luckily though Koffing is also hurt by their burn. I use an antdote on Molly to heal her up. Koffing takes the opportunity to hit with another assurance but is again hurt by their burn. I have Molly hit with return but it doesnt do much. One more ember and a bit of damage from the burn damage is enough to take koffing out.

I use a couple of potions on Molly to heal her up before taking on the guitarist on the right.

Once again I send in Molly and hte guitarist uses venipede. I have Molly start off with Ember which, it turns out, is super effective and takes venipede out in one hit! It must be the bug typing. This victory levels Molly up to level 16.

There is now only Koffing to deal with, and remembering how the last koffing tanked return I decide to rely on special attacks here and have Molly use Ember which takes Koffing down to half health and burns it. Another ember is enough to take it out.

Molly is really the MVP of this gym! Tbh I was expecting it to be Aries. I dont even need to heal up with a potion before facting Roxie. However before I face the gym leader I do take Bentleys pecha berry and give it to Molly while moving Bentley to the front of the party. I then give Bentley the silk scarf in the hopes that it will power up his Return attack.

I don't expect Bentley to do much in this fight since grass is weak to poison, but given what a murder bean Bentley was at the start of the adventure I doubt he'd be content with sitting out.

With that I face off against Roxie.

Roxie starts off with Koffing naturally enough. I opt to Bentley start of with Growth increasing his attack. Koffing hits with a supereffective smog, and I have Bentley set up another growth. I'm hoping to get a very stron ghit here. Koffing hits with assurance bring Bentley into the yellow. I then make a critical mistake and misclick another growth rather than an attack and Koffing hits Bentley with another smog. Not wanting to waste al those growths I opt to have Bentley use vinewhip. even though it wont be very effective. Which it sadly is not. Bentley is then KO'd by Koffing.

This ones on me not Bentley. Really could have played that smarter.

Wanting to save Molly for whatever pokemon Roxie has next, I send in Aries. Remembering that Koffin tanked return, I'm guess this guy must have high defense so Aries special attacks should do better here. Even so just to be safe I start off with a thunder wave to paraylze koffing and then use charge to power Aries up. Koffing hits with a tackle but it does barely anything. I have Aries use thundershock and its enough to take Koffing out in one hit!

Booyah Aries!

Roxie then sends out her next pokmeon, Whirlipede. If Whirlipede is a bug type like Scolipede was swapping in to Molly should be effective here. However I decide to leave Aries in. Her paralysis may be the best way to keep Whirlipede from using any moves that might poison my team.

So I do just that and have Aries use thunderwave right off the bat. Whirlipede gets paralyzed but still manages a pursuit. I have Aries use cotton spore to slow whirlipede down, and Whirlipede hits with venoshock for half of Aries health. Hoping to get lucky with paralysis I have Aries use charge to power up for an attack. Whirlipede used Venoshock again, but thanks to charge increasing Aries special defense it doesnt KO. Whilipede is paralyzed the next round and I have Aries use Thundershock which doesnt do as much as I hoped. I decide to use cotton spore again next round. If Aries cant beat Whirlipede i can at least make it slow for Molly. Whirlipede hits with another pursuit and I have Aries use another thundershock. Unfortunately Whirlipede uses protect and the damage fails to land. I repeat the same tactic next round but it only chips whirlipede. Whirlipede hits with another pursuit taking Aries out.

While two of my team members are down I'm not out. I send in Molly knowing Whirlipede is weakened alread and with Mollys intimidate its attack drops as well. Aries part comes through as Whirlipede is paralyzed and one ember is all it takes to beat Whilipede and win us the badge!

Thankfully Roxies a graceful loser and gives us the Toxic Badge for beating her. Now any pokemon up to level 30 will obey us. She also gives us the tm for venoshock.

yes they did Roxie yes did.

I'm fairly certain Bentleys disappointed he lost, but he'll rebound.

Immediately after we step off the stage a stranger approaches and asks us to go to pokestar studios. Mention of the place sends Roxie running off after her dad.

C'mon Roxie whats the worst that can happen here?

I head towards pokestar studios but stop at the pokemon center on the way to heal up my pokemon after that gym battle and head to the north of Virbank

So we walk in and the same stranger who talked to us back in Virbank Gym sees us and introduces us to the boss Mr... Stu Deeoh.

Stu Deeoh

I am not making this up.

Some parent out there really had the last name Deeoh and named their kid Stu. And that kid then proceeded to go into filmmaking.

I just.... what life does this man have?!

Be honest dude. Did your parents hate you? Are they dead? Did you kill them to inherent their money but mostly because they named you Stu Deeoh?

You and Alder must go to the same bar or something because you are dodging the question.

Well now I just want to slap your bald head.

I get a tour of the studio and meed Roxies dad in the lobby. Hes apparently just shot a film? Which was... fast? Are... are these cheap B movies? I hope its cheap B movies cause otherwise its something else and this is supposed to be a kids game.

So Roxies dad pressure me into watching his movie to get "acting tips" from a "professional".

Hahahah okay Pop Roxie MAAAAAAAYBE chill out a little? Yeah?

You've been in one low budget film shot in an open lot probably in front of a green screen. If your lucky its not something that'll make your daughter never wanna look you in the eye agian.

I don't gotta see your film, right talent seeker guy?

Arceus damn it!

UUUUUUUGH

Oh....

Oh wow...

You uh.... You okay Pop Roxie? Your knees okay?j

(missed my chance to screenshot this next bit so I got a screenshot from youtube. Original Vid here)

Wow man... tone death much?

Then Pop Roxie goes on this heartfelt speech about having always wanted to pursue his dream of being on the silver screen and being inspired by his daughter, and then he just... goes back to his ship saying he would return to the screen one day.

OH Pop Roxie!

The guy then just... drags me to the studio to see the Boss.

Call me Dahling again and Alder and Pop Roxie won't be the only older men around here who need new knees.

I WILL NOT BE IN A POR-

.... Ah. Thats significantly less bad. Well... I guess Hugh wouldn't mind if I take a few hours out of my day to-

YOUR KNEES ARE MINE OLD MAN

Oh right sure. Get your Kung Fu star five pokedollar Brycenman look-alike phony out here to protect you. I have a murder bean, a lightning ram, and a firebreathing dog. I aint afraid of your security detail!

.... Holy shit you're... you're actually Brycen.

Shit, uh... well if you heard anything about knees just know it was a HUGE misunderstanding eheheheh.

.....

My mom has a picture of you in our fridge.

She kisses it good night.

For years I thought she actually murdered dad so she could- I MEAN SAME TO YOU MAN! SAME TO YOU!

Your knees are spared this day old man.

Actually will I be getting paid for this? Yknow like in cash money? Cause, like, moms been single a long time since dad died and we could really use the-

aaaand he walked away.

Shit.

[clawdee]

Okay I've been home for hours but haven't updated anyone yet lmao

Work was fine and it didn't hurt my back as much as I thought it would, but I also spent half the time sitting doing computer training, and I was able to stand when I needed to I was able to go to the bathroom, and take a little walk around the store when I had to.

Like everything at work is new. I think I've mentioned this before but we have a new POS system and that's what part of the training was was showing me how to use it and I do like it a little better than our old one because with the old one you had to log in to do anything, but with this one you do not need to log in to like look up an item or get a price. But it's also shit because it'll bug out if you sell more than 10 items and like hello????? The last POS didn't do that 👀. Like the sheriff's office came in today and bought $4,000 worth of stuff for the Toys for tots and they had to break it up into like four or five transactions because it kept going buggy on them.

The phone system was still fairly new when I left so I have to relearn that and that's a pain in the ass, I hate the new PA system.

I met two new employees today (there's still a few kicking around from when I was there 2 years ago) and they were very friendly; and also very young.

For some reason we have like six fucking managers, only one of them is part-time so the other five have to get their 40 hours a week which leaves very little hours for the rest of us workers (and there are so many other employees like holy shit). So on the schedule there is 6 managers and 16 (including me) workers. So I will be lucky to get like 8 hours a week, which is definitely not enough to save up for a new computer 🙃 but I will definitely be taking every shift that is offered to me if I can.

I have the same employee number and my fingers still remember it when I go to login which is neat, but all my passwords are fucked up I can't get into my employee portal, I can't log into the register which means I can't clock in and out, a manager has to go in and manually input that for me. I was not able to get my old lock but my new locks code isn't too bad, it's just my brain having to remember which direction to go in first.

And then I work 3:00 to 7:00 tomorrow, and mom works 3:00 to 9:00 so when I get off work I get to walk down to her work and sit there for 2 hours 🙂

[atticollateral]

Losing my mind at work because people who are on floor with me keep trying to order take while I'm the order taker, so they'll put their hands in front of me trying to press buttons on the POS (point of sale system) and I'm just here like please stop, I will figure it out on my own, you do not need to press the buttons for me.

You don't teach anyone anything by intercepting someone else's work. People need to make mistakes and fix them themselves in their own way. after making a mistake, if you want to explain how to fix it, that's fine! that's all well and good, but neither of us benefit from the way you're trying to "fix" my service. I know when I am making a mistake. If it takes me longer than a second to find something on the screen with 30 different options on it, that's okay!!! it is literally my second day on the floor, you can't expect me to know where something is, and I'll find it myself. If that makes me slower, so be it, because I'm in training! I'm not going to be fast- but I'm already faster than most people who start out. That counts for something. 30 second service is insane, and nearly unachievable unless you're making things that are simple (ie. Coffee, lemonade, iced coffee, bagels, running baked goods.) it is 100% okay if I take an extra few seconds to punch someone's order into the POS. Especially a modified food/drink order. Those take everyone forever.

The only time you should be intercepting a new employee's work is if they're going to hurt themselves or somebody else, or they're going make a mess or are clearly struggling physically; like someone carrying a canister of iced coffee or something. Beyond that, intercepting a co-worker's work flow during service is not helping them; it will slow them down and screw up their learning and their service. If someone needs help, they will ask for it, and if they're scared to ask, make it clear that it's okay to ask! You are working as a team, and will be working as a team for the duration of your employment. it's important to know that you can go to other people you're working with for help and questions. If they're mean to you, tell them not to speak to you that way. Nobody should get away with being rude to you. If they keep being rude, you can go to your manager and get them to do something about it. It's literally in your workers rights and written in the employee handbook. <3

TLDR; be kind to new employees and let them make their own mistakes! :3

P.S. if you're ever unsure if someone needs help, ask them how you can help them / if they need to be helped. You will solve so many problems this way. It also helps in every day situations by the way.

[blmpff]

Current Tag Game

Tagged by @lelephantsnail @colourme-feral and @my-rose-tinted-glasses thamks guys <3

Current time: 7pm ish

Current activity: dying of a headache, eating dinner

Currently thinking about: Proper first day at the new job tomorrow, today it was mostly paperwork, and listening to current employees, tomorrow actual training begins.

Current favorite song: I've had it on a loop since October 25

(idk where spotistats is getting their data from, but some of the artists and songs they're putting in my "top (period of time)" I haven't listened to in so long/as much ever, they shouldn't be there anymore/at all in the first place)

Currently reading: does work manual count lol

Currently watching: My Dear Gangster Oppa, Dangerous Romance, I Feel You Linger in The Air, Kiseki, AND SHADOW - PART 2 WHEN

Current favorite character: Dan and Nai from Shadow, and the dad because he's such a delicious POS to hate, Pennueng and White from Home School, Cha(r)n from Laws of Attraction

Current WIP: *exasperated sigh* Under The Skin rewatch with making posts about it, I haven't touched that in so long.... BUT S2 IS IN THE WORKS AND I'M SO EXCITED At least I finally finished Semantic Error ehehe. It only took me almost 4 months, and 63 favorite scenes + 6 favorite shots posts about it. --omg I made 69 posts about SE HAHA (yes I'm 12yo)(did I mention my head hurts)

No pressure tagging: @troubled-mind @neuroticbookworm @omarandjohnny @sparklyeyedhimbo @slayerkitty @pickletrip @firstkanaphans @italianpersonwithashippersheart and anyone who's interested <3

[brainrockets]

In ye olden days I worked at Borders and the GM was a full alcoholic and the HR manager was a misogynistic POS. This man called the female employees his harem, because he routinely hired only women. I had been training someone new who had already cried multiple times due to asshole customers. HR man and one of his minions had been teasing her during close because that was just his whole deal.

I'd frankly had enough.

So I walked back to the stockroom where they were giggling like hyenas and, with an air of deep concern, asked them:

"What did you SAY to her! She is SOBBING."

Which really lit his butt on fire. He went pale.

He was like, "Shit! Really!?"

And I waited a couple beats and then went, "got ya!"

I added something like no fun when it's you eh? And he agreed he'd taken things too far.

I was pretty lucky that he took it well and just realized he'd been lucky I was joking that time.

I worked retail for a long time and people really do treat you like shit sometimes. But between selling sex toys, mattresses, and jewelry I can say definitively I got treated worst selling mattresses.

All three of my jobs were in sales but selling sex toys we were allowed to put people in their place, and in jewelry people didn’t want to misbehave in a fancy setting. But people at the mattress store had no problem yelling at me, hitting on me, or insulting me to my face.

For a while I was managing my own store for the company. I ran a small location and had struggling employees placed with me for rehabilitation. If their numbers improved they could go back to bigger stores. If not, they got fired.

So this meant I was the manager of problem employees. At one point both of my people had a foot out the door. The company was going downhill and changed computer systems and they were fed up. Consequently, they made a ton of mistakes, because they just didn’t care about the job or learning the new systems.

I strolled into work on what was essentially my Monday to a shit show. Deliveries scheduled without product, wrong things on orders, poor expectations of the process, you name it. I spent the entire morning getting yelled at for mistakes that weren’t mine.

The final straw came when a man called furious that his moms bed for her nursing home had a delivery window he couldn’t accommodate. This wasn’t a huge disaster since we still had time to deliver it before she moved. I ran him through the options and he just kept screaming at me. Not for a solution but because I was there and he was frustrated.

My heart filled with malice and a cold fury. A calculating part of my brain had a realization in that moment that I could stay a punching bag or I could strike back.

I quavered my voice delicately, taking in a shaky, warbling breath like I was trying not to cry. “Sir,” I quivered through fake tears, “I don’t know what you want from me! I told you what I can do, I didn’t make this mistake I’m just trying to fix it!” My voice broke pitifully on the last syllables, sounding in all ways like a sweet innocent person being yelled at who’s just trying her best, really!

It was like I’d doused him with cold water. My emotional act was the realization that he was screaming at someone who was just doing their damn job, and he was being an asshole. He hastily made an excuse and hung up.

I had a third employee covering with me from another store that day who heard everything. When I hung up, I looked over to see them watching me with an awed expression. “Did… did you just pretend to cry?”

“I absolutely fucking did,” I said with feeling, “and I’d do it a thousand more times. If that’s what it takes for someone to realize they’re behaving like a fucking prick, they deserve it.” The employee looked at me like I was their hero.

The man called back, apologizing profusely, having magically arranged his schedule to accommodate delivery. He came in later that week with an apology Starbucks gift card. I was gracious in my acceptance.

I pulled it a few more times before leaving the company. I felt no shame in the ruse. If someone behaves so poorly that it’s plausible their behavior would drive someone to tears they deserve to feel absolutely wretched about it.

[hannahciara]

Introduction: The Costly Cash Counting Problem in Vending

Handling cash in the vending industry isn't just time-consuming — it's error-prone, frustrating, and expensive. From miscounts to theft and reconciliation headaches, many vending machine operators lose money and time due to inefficient manual processes.

Enter the game-changer: the cash scan for vending. This advanced, automated tool is quickly becoming essential for vending businesses looking to streamline cash management, eliminate shrinkage, and boost operational efficiency.

Why Traditional Cash Counting Methods Fail Vending Operators

Manual counting with coin trays and visual sorting often leads to:

Frequent errors in coin and bill counting

Time-consuming reconciliation at day’s end

Security issues during cash transfers

Labor costs for dedicated counting staff

For vending machine routes handling hundreds of transactions daily, these problems scale fast — resulting in lost revenue and inefficient operations.

The Solution: Lynde Ordway’s Cash Scan for Vending

The cash scan for vending from Lynde Ordway is a high-speed, accurate, and durable cash scanning system designed specifically for industries handling high volumes of coins and currency.

Key Benefits for Vending Operators:

✅ Fast and Accurate Counting — Handle coins and bills with high precision in seconds

✅ Reduces Human Error — Smart sensors ensure reliable counts every time

✅ Compact Design — Ideal for mobile use or small office spaces

✅ User-Friendly Interface — Requires minimal training for staff

✅ Supports Reconciliation — Exports reports for easy tracking

This vending cash counter is not just a tool; it’s a profit-protecting investment.

Real-World Use Case

Mark T., a vending operator in Ohio, shared: "We used to spend over 3 hours each week manually counting and recounting cash from our machines. After switching to the Lynde Ordway Cash Scan, our counting process is done in minutes — and our discrepancies dropped to nearly zero."

This is the power of an automated cash scanning solution for vending businesses.

How Cash Scan Streamlines Your Entire Vending Operation

A cash scan for vending improves multiple facets of your vending route:

Cash Collection – Immediately count and verify during pickups

Office Reconciliation – Automate ledger entries and reduce paperwork

Security – Prevent internal loss and miscounts with tamper-proof data

Audit Trail – Maintain accountability with printed or digital reports

These features translate into measurable cost savings and greater control over your cash flow.

Secondary Benefits That Add Up

Aside from time and accuracy, the vending cash counter offers:

Employee Trust – Removes suspicion by automating the process

Scalability – Handle more machines without more staff

Customer Service Boost – Resolve vending refund issues with accurate records

With these advantages, vending businesses are not just saving money — they're growing smarter.

Q&A: Common Questions About Cash Scan for Vending

Q: Is the cash scan portable enough for on-site use? A: Yes, the latest models are compact and durable, ideal for mobile route usage.

Q: What denominations does it support? A: It handles a wide range of US coins and bills, with auto-recognition and sorting features.

Q: Can it integrate with our accounting system? A: Absolutely. Many models support USB or wireless data transfer to Excel or POS systems.

Call to Action: Stop Losing Money — Start Scanning Smart

If you're still counting coins by hand, you're already behind. Equip your vending operation with the cash scan for vending and watch your efficiency, accuracy, and profits soar.

💡 Ready to eliminate cash handling headaches? Contact Lynde Ordway today to learn more about the best vending cash counter for your business.

[alesajhonsan]

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